TRENTON — Underscoring the deep divide that exists on gun laws, state lawmakers are having difficulty agreeing on how to get unregistered weapons off the streets with an amnesty period.
Twenty bills primarily from majority Democrats were approved by a state Assembly committee late Wednesday, including a measure that would reopen a window for owners to get rid of already-banned assault firearms.
The bills will receive full Assembly consideration next week.
Republicans on the panel questioned why so many bills were being advanced at the same time. There are political implications with Republican Gov. Chris Christie and the entire Legislature up for election in the fall.
“Some of these bills are very complex,” said Assemblyman Sean Kean, R-Monmouth. “We need to be careful of what we’re voting on. These are important issues that should be fully vetted and should not be rushed through.”
Christie, who was in California for a campaign fundraiser, has been noncommittal on any new gun-control measures in New Jersey, which ranks second in the nation in the strength of its gun laws, according to some gun control advocates.
Gun control remains an issue of interest to New Jersey voters. A recent Monmouth University/Asbury Park Press poll shows that 83 percent of the registered voters surveyed believe gun control is either very important or somewhat important when it comes to their vote for governor in 2013.
New Jersey’s ban on assault weapons took effect in 1990. Authorities already conduct periodic gun buy-back programs. The proposed 180-day amnesty would be another way for people to turn in assault weapons and illegally possessed handguns, rifles and shotguns.
But that’s not enough time to comply if a law is enacted without being publicized, said Second Amendment activists and people from pro-gun groups.
“We would respectfully suggest that a year would be an appropriate amount of time (for an amnesty period),” said Scott Bach, head of the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs and an NRA board member.

Bill sponsor Charles Mainor, a Democrat from Hudson County, did not indicate he would oppose tweaking the bill.
Two panel members — one from each party — abstained from the vote and called on Mainor to increase the amnesty period. The bill cleared on a 6-2 vote.
“We recognize that we cannot put an end to each and every gun crime, but we can responsibly close the gaps and make our laws stronger for the benefit of everyone,” said Mainor, chairman of the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee, where the package of bills was considered during a sometimes unruly hearing that lasted more than seven hours.
One area of common ground was the lethal nature of assault weapons. The Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, Conn., were primarily accomplished with a semiautomatic rifle and a high-capacity clip capable of holding 30 bullets — items already outlawed in New Jersey.
But Newark resident Alexander Roubian, a certified firearms instructor, said the new proposals smacked of political overreach.
“I don’t want anybody on the (committee) to think we ridicule you and think we’re against you. The firearms community has wanted to work with legislators on better bills,” Roubian said.
The session at the Statehouse Annex drew a room-capacity crowd of 250, with the majority expressing resistance to more stringent gun laws.
Another 100 people were in an overflow auxiliary room.
The crowd included Forked River resident Glenn Darwell, who traveled on a bus trip sponsored by a Second Amendment group.
Darwell said he is “very much against” many of the proposed laws.
“A gun owner shouldn’t be penalized. I’m a veteran and quite frankly I find it despicable what they’re doing,” said Darwell, who said he served in the Navy during the Vietnam era. “These bills spit on the service of any veteran.”
Mainor was heckled during his opening remarks and warned the audience that he would shut down the hearing if order was not maintained.
“We are here today for a serious and emotional discussion, but one I hope will be held with courtesy and respect for each other’s opinions,” Mainor said
One audience member was ejected during Sen. Loretta Weinberg’s testimony as she reviewed mass killings when firearms were used.
Weinberg called Newtown “the last straw.”
Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy was first to testify. He pleaded for stronger laws but his words were interrupted by protesters.
Later, a priest accused lawmakers of not caring about inner-city kids — drawing a strong rebuke from Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, a Democrat from Union County, who said, “with all respect to the cloth and the ashes on your head, father, don’t do that.”